Nah, it's all crammed into my bedroom in this 500sqft. condo I have. I'm going to be looking at a 3BR next year, for sure. One room for Super Powers, the office for my side business and other vintage like Star Wars, and then an actual bedroom.

This thread turned out to be even better than I expected. Great story CC, and awesome SW collection. I don't even collect Star Wars, but I must say I was very impressed. Your story brought memories rushing back from when I was a kid, and TRU used to have those contests where you win a shopping spree. They used to give you like 1 or 2 minutes and you could get whatever you wanted in the store. A kid in my neighborhood won it. I think I still hate him to this day .

Definitely. And as you can see, it really stuck in my young, impressionable mind.

alcinde4 wrote:

Your story brought memories rushing back from when I was a kid, and TRU used to have those contests where you win a shopping spree. They used to give you like 1 or 2 minutes and you could get whatever you wanted in the store. A kid in my neighborhood won it. I think I still hate him to this day

Nah, it's all crammed into my bedroom in this 500sqft. condo I have. I'm going to be looking at a 3BR next year, for sure. One room for Super Powers, the office for my side business and other vintage like Star Wars, and then an actual bedroom.

Peace,

Chip

Good to know you have your priorities straight!

In my house it's toy room, D&D room, and bedroom.

_________________Leave it up to a billionaire to buy the world some time --- Tony Stark

Im still in the process of resetting up my toy room-- part of the reason I havent been posting-- but when I moved my collection- If I had left everything carded-- I dont think I could have gotten everything down in one trip..(I mean I was able to fit some of those collection pictures into one tub-- which was a hell of a lot easier to move.

To each their own- but I have seen that same SW figure carded display at over 25 houses (in that its just on different walls) and you can never tell whose house it is-- with my loose stuff its always easy to tell my collection from others.

However- carded guys do have the advantage of reselling-- since I believe if some of my stuff was still carded- I might be able to unload- and now id rather keep it then let it go for pennies.. - this mostly goes for the vintage SW stuff (which I open sometimes just to get the POTF or Droids coins I need, and other oddball items- like when I sold my set of Big Trouble in Little China Figures-- (probably could have gotten about 25.00 more a piece if they were carded.)

_________________Fastest know derailer of threads in the know universe...expanded or otherwise.

If you ever plan to make money from your hobby, your best bet is to keep things MIB/MIP. Loose toys will never be worth all that much (unless it's really, really old).

I admire my buddy's will in not opening all of his toys. When we both got MP Optimus Prime, I opened it, he didn't.

A few years later, he got a nice return on his investment (I think he got double what he paid for it), while mine hangs out on my shelves. I'll probably never get my money back on him, but I got to transform him (and it was HARD!), test out all the play features, and pose him with the rest of my Alternators.

I think I got the better deal.

_________________Leave it up to a billionaire to buy the world some time --- Tony Stark

Wow, I am really glad on how my first thread turned out So next time i go to walmart/toysrus I am going to buy a couple figures from the clone wars line which I don't really collect and open them and I see how I like them out of there box

On the whole, I open everything. They get displayed, My kids and I play with them, and I'm not looking at these as an investment portfolio. I just sold off my SDCC Plastic Man suitcase. Plas had already been opened and played with so there was no point in trying to preserve and maximize his value any longer.

I go through periods where I buy a lot of toys, and one quirky thing I do is not open them all right away. I like to spread out the fun over weeks and even months. A little delayed gratification! The Figures that are high on my priority list get opened right away and then the figures I only "kinda like" stay MOC fora period of time in a box in the basement. That way, If I change my mind on the toy, I can offer it for sale/trade in perfect condition! And If I decide I still want the toy, then I get to open it up on a week where there's a dryspell for toy purchases.

I used to be a MOC collector. I would buy one to open, and one to keep sealed. I am no longer doing that because 1) I never look at the MOC toys again. I buy them, put them in a box, and they go into a closet. Every once in a while I take them out, but for the most part, I don't see them again. 2) No space. MOC toys take up lots of room due to having to keep the packaging mint. 3) Costly. I want to collect more toy lines than what I do now, so I stopped collecting MOC which frees up money for other toys.

I sold most of my MOC collection. I now only have a set of 25th anniversary joes, some SDCC stuff, and a MISB Super Powers Kenner Supermobile, which is the gem of my collection. Going forward, I will only keep someone MOC if I really enjoy the packaging (like the SDCC items. I think I'll always buy two of any SDCC toys I get) or if it means something to me (the 25th Joes remind me of the original card art, and the Super Powers Supermobile is a vehicle I always wanted as a kid but never had. When I snagged one off Ebay in near perfect condition for a decent price, I was over the moon with joy. I still love pulling that box out and looking at it. In fact, I'm going to do that right now!)

I don't like the look of carded toys on display. It looks too much like a toy store.

That's actually one of the things I love about it, but it's not so much the idea of a toy store. Here's the explanation I wrote for a page on my site:

When I moved into my house, I picked a place with an extra bedroom that would eventually become my collection room. It took some time, planning, and work, but I eventually managed to cover the walls, creating something of a toy store appearance. It brings a different image to my mind, though.

When I was eight years old, the first contest I ever won was a call-in trivia game held during afternoon cartoons by a local television station, WCCB, which would become our FOX network affiliate the following year. Membership in the WCCB Kids' Club (which was free) was required for eligibility. While watching the animated G.I. JOE series, that day's question was announced: "What is the name of the villain in Thundercats?" Well, I wasn't a big fan of the show, but I knew Mumm-Ra's name, and after many, many attempts on previous days, I finally managed to get past that dreaded busy signal and give the correct answer. The guy took my name and information and told me I could stop by the station to pick out my prize. Assuming I'd be able to choose from a couple of Thundercats toys, I wasn't as excited about the prize as I was having won the contest. Besides, I thought, I could always trade a Thundercat for something more to my liking.

When my grandmother drove me to One Television Place, though, that all changed. Instead of showing me a couple of Thundercats figures, the man who greeted me walked me to a room full of toys from many different action figure lines. There were Thundercats, Transformers, Masters of the Universe, and others, all from the shows the station aired in its afternoon block. This was every boy's dream, and I was in awe. Once I managed to collect my thoughts, my eyes settled upon something I'd been wanting desperately, but had been without the opportunity to acquire: a G.I. JOE Zartan with Chameleon Swamp Skier. I picked it up off the shelf and asked the man if I could have it as my prize. "Sure," he said with a smile. I thanked him and clutched it against my chest all the way to the car. I not only got my Zartan that day, but also what would eventually be the inspiration for my collection room.

This is the result, although some of the 12" figures have been evicted to make room for Marvel Universe tenants.

I don't have a preference for packaged toys over open ones, and I actually own a lot more loose figures than what I have carded/boxed (like a lot a lot). I just like how the STAR WARS and 25th Anniversary G.I. JOE toys display in their packaging. Other than SW and JOE, only a couple of Mattel DC exclusives, some TRON reissues, the SDCC Dexter, and a red jersey Eli Manning figure are still sealed. Everything else that hasn't been opened will be eventually.

That is awesome! To me this display of carded figures looks so much cooler than loose figures. Things like this ^ are the reason I'll never open my figures.

It's not about playing with the toys for me, it's about the thrill of tracking them down and adding to my collection.

I think a lot of people who ended up opening theirs started out keeping them in the package and then in a moment of foolishness decided to open them all at once. When they argue that people should open their figures, they're really just making rationalizations to themselves that what they did wasn't a bad decision.

That is awesome! To me this display of carded figures looks so much cooler than loose figures. Things like this ^ are the reason I'll never open my figures.

It's not about playing with the toys for me, it's about the thrill of tracking them down and adding to my collection.

I think a lot of people who ended up opening theirs started out keeping them in the package and then in a moment of foolishness decided to open them all at once. When they argue that people should open their figures, they're really just making rationalizations to themselves that what they did wasn't a bad decision.

To each their own, I suppose. Personally, I'm not 12, I don't have any interest in opening my figures and I never will. For me, the thrill of the chase and the acquisition of something new is what I want, I don't even display them, I'd need a whole new wing for the house to put even a small portion of them on display.

I just have a problem with people acting like they *OUGHT* to be opened. You don't see people telling stamp collectors to go out and lick their stamps, do you? That's what "stamps are for" after all. Or coin collectors, do you expect them to spend their collection? Being spent is what money is for, right? So why is being opened and played with what "action figures are for"?

To me, a toy/figure is like a 3 dimensional picture. When I "play" with it, I set it up and the play is in my mind. If it is still in the package, I cannot enjoy all of it, only that small part of it that I can see. I want to see the whole picture.

CCC.

_________________The expediency of acquired knowledge is preponderant upon determining a justifiable conclusion, unattainable at this time.